Our Mission

The loneliness epidemic is one of the most pressing issues we're facing in today's society. Despite being more digitally connected than ever, many of us have lost touch with nature and struggle to find real, meaningful community and connection. As a result, over 50% of Americans struggle with loneliness.

Outerly's mission is simple: to connect the world through nature.

The Problem

Everybody wishes they spent more time outside. Not only is it fun, but it's also really good for our mental and physical health.  

However, many of us - especially in urban areas - find it challenging to get outdoors regularly.

Why? Because we don't know where to go or who to go with.

As a result, only ~18% of the US population (less than 1 in 5 people!) participates in outdoor activities at least once per week, and only ~55% participates at least once per year.

The Solution

Many of today's outdoor recreation apps are focused on mapping and navigation, but few are focused on the key barriers preventing people from getting outdoors in the first place.

Outerly addresses an unmet need in outdoor recreation: the need to connect with others.

In our in-depth customer research, we discovered:

• ~50% of users don't go outdoors as much as they'd like to because they don't know where to go
• ~75% of users don't go outdoors as much as they'd like to because they can't easily find someone else to go with.

Outerly takes a different approach than incumbents - by enabling people to connect based on the activities they want to try, we mirror and alleviate the pain points of the outdoor customer journey as they happen.

Additionally, we're not just targeting the ~55% of the population that participates in outdoor recreation currently, but we're also widening the funnel in a friendly, social way for net-new participants to begin their journeys in the outdoors.

Our Product

Imagine if you could find outdoor activities near you and immediately see all of the people in your circles who want to go as well. That's what we're building with Outerly!

Our app consists of:

• Activities database, with information pages about each activity that include all of your friends & friends of friends who want to go, as well as events going on at that location
• Events page with upcoming events near you, organized by both individuals as well as organizations
• Membership and affinity discussion groups to connect with like-minded adventurers
• Premium (paid) service offering weekly curated itineraries and matching for members

Our Business Model and Revenue

Gamers, crafters, and CEOs all have their own social networks, so why can't the outdoors have one?

We've identified what we think is a clear path for Outerly to become a $1B+ business. It looks something like this:

• A $1B valuation means roughly $100M in annual revenue
• $100M in revenue means 500k-1M paid subscribers (at $15/month), which is <0.6% of the American outdoor enthusiast population
• Our B2B2C strategy involves having companies sponsor Outerly as a benefit to employees; as we grow B2B partnerships, we will begin to see even more revenue growth there

Our DC beta currently has 400+ users with a 7% conversion to premium, and one B2B partner.

Please note: future projections or events cannot be guaranteed.

Why Are We Raising a Community Round?

We believe that community-led companies should be community-owned companies, and Outerly is no exception. We want our investor base to consist of the people we're building for - people who believe that time outdoors is essential for human connection and well-being.

As our revenue and profits grow, we want your wealth to grow, too. By giving anyone from our community the opportunity to invest - rather than the archaic model centered around wealthy VCs and individuals - we're putting our trust and power into YOUR hands.

Outerly will always be a company built by and for nature lovers and mental health advocates. This is your chance to own a piece of our future.

Our Current Team & Investors

I'm a super scrappy solo founder with a ton of experience in marketing and corporate strategy. I've previously worked for Bain & Company and National Geographic, as well as several early stage startups.

To this point, I've built our MVP myself using no-code tools, alongside a handful of advisors and angel investors. These folks span the outdoor, healthcare, and tech industries, and believe that Outerly can become a $1B+ company in the future.

We also have an Outerly Brain Trust group with over 50 unofficial advisors and teammates, who have all stepped up to give feedback and provide guidance in their areas of expertise for Outerly.

Outerly in the Media

Our presence as the experts in urban outdoor recreation continues to grow, with features on Outerly (formerly Urban Outdoors) in Outside Business Journal, ENO Hammocks, Outdoor Retailer Magazine, Technical.ly, The Wild We Share, HelpScout, and Not Yet Podcast.

Our founder has also spoken as an industry expert on urban outdoor recreation trends at the Adventure Travel Trade Association AdventureELEVATE conference, the Outdoor Media Summit, Outside Adventure Expo, and for digital events with Mental Health America, Modern Campground, and more. She also won DC Startup Week's Early Stage Pitch Competition for Outerly in fall 2022.

How Will We Use the Funds?

Our use of this capital is simple: nail our DC pilot and prepare our product for launch in 3 more cities this winter. We'll be allocating capital roughly as follows:

• 25% to product development
• 35% to employee & contractor costs
• 30% to marketing and operations
• 10% to legal/accounting fees & fundraising costs

Note: future projections cannot be guaranteed

Invest in Outerly

As an investor, here’s the summary of your investment:

• Outerly's current valuation is only $6M right now ($5M with our early bird terms), and we're chasing a $1B+ opportunity in a $889B+ market
• We have a path to 20x growth in the next 24 months
• An investment today is a bet that Outerly will be worth more than $6M in the future

Please note that we're going to work hard to grow this business, but future performance isn't guaranteed.

Your investment in Outerly will also further our mission & help people spend more time in nature together, tackling the loneliness epidemic and generating stewardship for protecting our green spaces.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the future of the outdoor recreation industry, then I suggest you click the INVEST button on this page and become a part-owner of our company.

Once you click the button, you’ll be taken to a secure online form to complete your information and investment transaction.

Thanks for your time, and I'll see you outside!

Kay Rodriguez, Founder & CEO of Outerly